The Rhodesian Christian Group Newsletter - Victims of Communism

Amid the cries of a better future for Zimbabwe with at last the swearing in of Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister, the sudden death of Susan Tsvangirai, wife of Morgan, has erupted in the media as an assassination car crash.

One newspaper in the United Kingdom stated that it strongly believed that efforts were being made to derail the progress of the new inclusive government. It gave emphasis to what is called the fact that a lot of Robert Mugabe's opponents died in suspicious road accidents, involving army trucks.

In the days that followed this tragic accident, the media seem to have tempered its language, following a report from the British Foreign Office that said the crash appeared to be a genuine accident.

There is little doubt that the death of Susan Tsvangirai, aged 51, ending a marriage of some 31 years, will have an enormous impact on Morgan Tsvangirai and the rest of their family.

The Christian community throughout the world, who have shown great concern for the tragic decline and suffering of the people of Zimbabwe, will be remembering Morgan and his family in their prayers.

Before this tragic accident, all concerned eyes have been focused on the hope that the new inclusive government would bring about some meaningful change in Zimbabwe. The sudden arrest by the Zimbabwe State of Roy Bennett, a member of Morgan Tsvangirai's party and designated to become a deputy Farm Minister, does not bode well for the future of the new government.

It is understood that the prosecution later agreed that the charges against Roy Bennett should be changed from treason to the possession of illegal firearms. These events must and will have an impact on the shared international confidence for a better future in Zimbabwe.

PROGRAMME OF EXTERMINATION

Robert Mugabe seems oblivious to the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe with AIDS, cholera and starvation - a tapestry of unbelievable suffering. Is it possible that this whole decline is a deliberate programme of extermination?

We recall Didymus Mutasa's words when he was Zanu PF's administrative secretary and the party's senior bureaucrat in 2002 and said he would not mind if Zimbabwe lost half of its 12million people, because of the collapse in agricultural production.

He went on to say "We would be better off with only 6 million people".

Clare Short, who was the British overseas development minister at the time, said "To welcome the death of nearly half the people in a country is unforgivable. No one should forgive Mutasa."

A leading Danish academic, Amanda Hammar, also commented "Mutasa's infamously stated desire to discard surplus populations has resonance with historic precedents such as National Socialism in Germany and its translation into routine governmental annihilation".

CONTINUED SEIZURE

Robert Mugabe vowed recently to continue his land reform programme involving the seizure of white-owned farms. But the strategy has been dealt a blow by a recent ruling of a little-known international tribunal.

Upholding the claims of 79 landowners, the tribunal of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) held that the seizure of land by the Government of Zimbabwe is arbitrary, racially discriminatory and contrary to the rule of law.

In a major embarrassment to Robert Mugabe and his administration, the tribunal also ordered the Zimbabwean Government to protect the occupation of those of the applicants who remain on their land and to pay compensation to those who have been evicted.

If Zimbabwe does not comply with the order it will be in clear contravention of its international obligations to its Southern African neighbours. Mugabe had gone to extreme lengths to try to prevent the tribunal from delivering its judgment.

ZIMBABWE DOLLAR IS WORTHLESS

The Zimbabwe dollar is worthless, so worthless that a suggestion has been made that perhaps the only way to rescue the country is for it to adopt the Rand.

However, reports have suggested that if Zimbabwe were to join the common monetary area of South Africa (CMA) in the face of the current foreign reserve crisis, it would be unable to match the performance of Swaziland and Namibia, currently members of the CMA, who back up the local use of the Rand with foreign reserves.

One analyst, who did not want to be named, apparently said it was difficult to assess the total of Rand needed to support Zimbabwe. The suggestion is that it could cost up to R1,000 per person in South Africa, but even if the amount was less, it would still cost many billions of Rand to rescue Zimbabwe. Even Gideon Gono, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, believes that such a measure is not an option.

Certainly, as far as the citizens of South Africa are concerned, many are very troubled by the suggestion. Currently, the economic situation in South Africa is reasonably buoyant.

Part of this no doubt will be because the vast majority of the people of South Africa have not been in a position in the past to take on any housing loans, in contrast to the peoples of both the United Kingdom and America. South Africa has some five million people without proper housing.

HELP FOR REFUGEES

We have received a report that Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central District of the Methodist Church of South Africa is helping some 4,000 Zimbabwean refugees in his church in Johannesburg.

The church has also set up a school for over 200 children, a large number of whom travelled to South Africa unaccompanied. Very recently Bishop Verryn had a meeting with the Mayor of Johannesburg.

We understand that the church and its immediate area have been cordoned off and it is anticipated that the city will give some help. Bishop Verryn and his staff rely on an organisation that has set up soup kitchens which operate three days a week to feed the refugees, and on donations which fund the operation.

TRUE DEMOCRACY FOR END OF SANCTIONS

There has been a measure of support for the new Zimbabwe government by the SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) countries, in as much as that they have proposed a two billion Rand support for Zimbabwe, but only on the understanding that true democracy is practised in Zimbabwe.

The same reticence is seen from America. President Barack Obama has said he was prolonging the US sanctions on Zimbabwe for a year. He clearly sees the country's current

WITH GRATEFUL THANKS

We must thank all of our readers who have supported us to make it possible to assist those in need during the year.

Help is given to the war wounded and to people who have had to leave Zimbabwe. Our main emphasis of help in Zimbabwe has been to the elderly in nursing homes, who are desperate for support.